[Assorted][Daily] SecretInfiltrator's SecretBase

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SecretInfiltrator
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Card of the Day 2020-02-27 >

Nosy Manservant {U}
Creature – Human Serf (U)
Whenever you discard a card, scry 1.
Cleaning up behind the master's many nightly meetings Ayno knew quite a lot more about the estate's dark secrets than he let on.
1/1

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

Ooh, Madness helper. Nice.
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Card of the Day 2020-02-28 >

Etherium Serpent {3}{W}{U}{B}
Artifact Creature – Serpent (R)
Whenever ~ or another nontoken artifact you control dies, create two artifact tokens named Etherium Cell with "{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color."
Sacrifice six permanents named Etherium Cell: Return ~ from your graveyard to the battlefield.
6/6

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

A very interesting card, and one with a built in recursion ability at that. It is also a nice artifact deck addition, and I could see it in many Esper deck variants. If you have a way to protect it from removal (shouldn't be that hard in blue and white), it is a nice form of mana acceleration as well. Of course, to be really efficient, it would need a few helper cards that produce Etherium Cell's as well, but if I was a set designer and put this one in a set, I'd add a few of those as well.
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Card of the Day 2020-02-29 >

Rattletrap Servo {3}
Artifact Creature – Servo (C)
You may sacrifice an artifact token rather than pay ~'s mana cost.
"Is that a goblet hammered into a gear? And yesterday's leftover as insulation? I'm not certain whether to be more impressed or disgusted."
–Thana Vey, workshop inspector

2/2

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

This could be pretty powerful in the right deck. There are a few cheap cards that create artifact tokens of various types after all.
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Card of the Day 2020-03-01 >

Encroaching Shade {1}{B}
Creature – Shade (C)
When ~ enters the battlefield, reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a Swamp card from among them into your hand. Put the rest into your graveyard.
{2}{B}: ~ gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
0/1

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

This card could be pretty good in a Threshold, Delirium, or other Graveyard matters deck, it is also good on color mana fixing.
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Card of the Day 2020-03-02 >

Tiefling Seer {R}{R}
Creature – Azra Shaman (R)
Futuresight (Your future is an additional card from the top of your library. You may look at your future at any time.)
Whenever ~ attacks, you may exile your future. If you do, you may play a card exiled this way this turn.
1/3

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

I don't really understand that mechanic 100%.

What it does is basically allow me to look at the top card of my library, correct? But not play it unless something specifically allows me to?
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Post by Ink-Treader » 4 years ago

Krishnath wrote:
4 years ago
I don't really understand that mechanic 100%.

What it does is basically allow me to look at the top card of my library, correct? But not play it unless something specifically allows me to?
More than that, it also appears to stack. Multiple instances of futuresight let's you looks at that many of the top cards. The main issue with the mechanic is the potential for people to rearrange their cards after looking at them.

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

Ink-Treader wrote:
4 years ago
Krishnath wrote:
4 years ago
I don't really understand that mechanic 100%.

What it does is basically allow me to look at the top card of my library, correct? But not play it unless something specifically allows me to?
More than that, it also appears to stack. Multiple instances of futuresight let's you looks at that many of the top cards. The main issue with the mechanic is the potential for people to rearrange their cards after looking at them.
Yeah, I suspected as much, that kind of breaks the game.
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Krishnath wrote:
4 years ago
Yeah, I suspected as much, that kind of breaks the game.
I'd like to address that issue, but I don't see how it breaks the game.

Is Orcish Spy causing that problem as well?

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

SecretInfiltrator wrote:
4 years ago
Krishnath wrote:
4 years ago
Yeah, I suspected as much, that kind of breaks the game.
I'd like to address that issue, but I don't see how it breaks the game.

Is Orcish Spy causing that problem as well?
No, because it specifically instructs you to put the cards back in the same order. Compare with Mirri's Guile, now imagine doing that but as a fully fledged mechanic on multiple cards. Yes, individually the mechanic only allows one, but as it is worded, it can quickly get out of hand if you have multiples. Mirri's Guile is rare for a reason. (It also really needs to be reprinted, it's not on the reserved list)
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Post by void_nothing » 4 years ago

I REALLY like future. It seems deep and fun. But at the same time, it has a problem. Not a balance problem but a timewasting problem. Sensei's Divining Top was notorious for making turns take forever. Actually reordering with futuresight is cheating, of course, but it is possible and might be hard to detect.
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Krishnath wrote:
4 years ago
No, because it specifically instructs you to put the cards back in the same order.
I don't understand how nonfunctional reminder text can break/unbreak the game.

This card is not Mirri's Guile. It does not allow you to rearrange cards. Mirri's Guile and Sensei's Divining Top "specifically instruct you" to make a choice. You don't get to do stuff that the card doesn't say.

Look at a common then:

Dawnshell Augur {3}{U}
Creature – Turtle Shaman (C)
Futuresight (Your future is an additional card from the top of your library. You may look at your future at any time.)
2/4


Without misinterpreting what Ink-Treader wrote, where do you get Mirri's Guile from over Orcish Spy?
Compare with Mirri's Guile, now imagine doing that but as a fully fledged mechanic on multiple cards.
Isn't that what scry is?
void_nothing wrote:
4 years ago
I REALLY like future. It seems deep and fun. But at the same time, it has a problem. Not a balance problem but a timewasting problem. Sensei's Divining Top was notorious for making turns take forever.
The time should only be used up whenever the available information changes if you cannot reorder. I could imagine limiting the occasion you can look at your future in a way that reduces both potential for wasting time and cheating, but it would require some creatively written reminder text to keep the text length in check.

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

No, no it is not. Scry allows you to look at a card and then either chose to put it back or on the bottom of your library. If that rare is any indication of the average rare with the mechanic, it can allow you to cast any spell of the top X cards of your library, where X if the number of cards you have with the ability. That is an incredibly powerful effect. And since the card doesn't specifically tell you to put the cards you look at back in the same order it leaves it open to interpretation, which in some circumstances, allows you to stack your deck. Wording is everything when it comes to MTG cards. Even if we just take the ability at face value (It allows you to look at the top N cards of your library, where N is the number of permanents with the ability) without the ability to reorder, it is still not appropriate for commons, and possibly even uncommons, because knowledge of what you have coming up in your deck is incredibly powerful and useful in MTG. There is a reason why Sphinx of Jwar Isle is rare, and it ain't shroud.
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Krishnath wrote:
4 years ago
No, no it is not. Scry allows you to look at a card and then either chose to put it back or on the bottom of your library.
I think you are mixing up "scry" with "scry 1" here. Omenspeaker certainly has reminder text including "in any order".

Which is my point: Scry is more powerful than Mirri's Guile since it allows both rearranging the cards and gettig rid of undesirable cards, but both of Mirri's Guile and scry allow you to get knowledge of the top card of your library.

Witness of Tomorrows is just the common from the most recent set that uses scry 1 to give you something more powerful than mere knowledge of your next draw: knowledge and a chance of dismissal.
Krishnath wrote:
4 years ago
And since the card doesn't specifically tell you to put the cards you look at back in the same order it leaves it open to interpretation, which in some circumstances, allows you to stack your deck.
The rules are clear on this: Looking means "just looking". That's why Otcish Spy works exactly the same without reminder text.

There are no circumstances that "allow" you to "stack your deck". I'd like to read about a counterexample, if I'm wrong, but your complaint sounds more like "that kind of has unclear reminder text" than "that kind of breaks the game".
I can handle this. Unclear reminder text can be rewritten.

Regarding rarity:
SPOILER
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It's all part of the things keywords do. If bestow was typed out without keywording you wouldn't see it at common, but only on cards like Bronzehide Lion. By making more cards with futuresight than the single Sphinx of Jwar Isle you create an environment where players are going to be more aware of the rules by necessity and can push it down in rarity - and by giving the mechanic a keyword you create an anchor point for the complexity.

I also argue looking at Simic Sky Swallower and Zephid that flying+shroud is actually going quite a distance towards rare. The latter, having power less than 4, could probably make it as an uncommon. If you have power 4 or greater, flying and shroud/hexproof (statically without restrictions e. g. Sphinx of the Guildpact or Aerie Mystics), then I put you at rare.

Cruel Deceiver and cycle are commons.
---

Card of the Day 2020-03-03 >

Impersonator {2}{U}
Creature – Shapeshifter (C)
You may have Impersonator enter the battlefield with the name, colors and creature types of any creature on the battlefield.
The first hint that the visitor might not really be the famed giant Enor Mountaintall was him fitting through the inn's front door.
2/3

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Post by void_nothing » 4 years ago

Impersonator's perfectly nice. Pretty niche; the best use would be to go in any tribal deck in (presumably) a tribal Limited, but Johnny likes the copy-names deal.
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Post by user_938036 » 4 years ago

Impersonator is interesting but it really makes me think "What am I doing? Why am I doing this?" Which isn't the best for common. The actual uses for it also seem extremely thin compared to simpler abilities. Under what scenario would you want a multitude of this filling a draft table?

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

@SecretInfiltrator You do have some good points, I just fear that people will misuse the ability.

As for the Impersonator, it seems a little strong for a common. Not to strong though, but as user_938036 points out, its a pretty complex card. Uncommon might be better. That said, it's a very nice design, and could provide four extra copies of cards that care about names or types (such as Plague Rats, lol.)
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Post by SecretInfiltrator » 4 years ago

Card of the Day 2020-03-04 >

Shadowed Flock {2}{G}{G}
Creature – Sheep (U)
Whenever ~ attacks, create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token that's tapped and attacking.
0/7

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

Shadowed Flock seems like a fun card. It also functions as Wolf tribal support as it is pretty tough and creates wolf tokens. On the other hand, a dedicated player can remove it by blocking it with enough creatures to kill it at no risk to themselves, which is a good balancing factor.

Now, if you could somehow make it unblockable or indestructible.... :D
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Post by M00NSIDIAN » 4 years ago

Hey, it has got 0 power, there's a good amount of things that can make creatures with power 2 or less unblockable for a turn. Not sure how doable it'd be in a draft (cause, y'know, no idea if those would be in the set...), but it's doable elsewhere pretty easily.

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Post by Krishnath » 4 years ago

M00NSIDIAN wrote:
4 years ago
Hey, it has got 0 power, there's a good amount of things that can make creatures with power 2 or less unblockable for a turn. Not sure how doable it'd be in a draft (cause, y'know, no idea if those would be in the set...), but it's doable elsewhere pretty easily.
It would do fine in draft I think, after all, with 7 toughness, it's, well, tough. :grin:
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